Tom (he never liked to be called Tommy) was born on November 30, 1937, so on September 13, 1956 he was not yet 19 years old. I don't find it unusual that he was beaten in a 25 by someone who was probably a more mature rider and possibly a time trial specialist. Tom joined Scala Wheelers because he wanted to race in road races and not concentrate on time trialling like most of the competitive riders did in the UK at that time (his previous club was not a member of the NCU), so this 25 for Tom was probably just a fill in betweeen road races for him.
That said I bet Mr. Dawson bragged about it for years after Tom became an established pro, especially after he won the Tour of Flanders, Milan San Remo and of course the World Road Championships.
As you can tell from this little diatribe, as a young teenager in the UK in the early 60's, Tom was my hero (and just about everyone elses who was interested in cycling).
Brian Booth
Toronto, Canada